Wide Shower Stools & Commodes: Sizing for Larger Frames

A Mobility Plus buying guide, family-run and Kiwi-owned since 2005.

Quick answer: Most shower stools, shower chairs, commodes and over-toilet frames sold in New Zealand are built around a 100kg to 135kg user, with a seat somewhere between 28cm and 45cm wide. If the person using it sits above that, you need equipment engineered wider and stronger from the ground up, not a standard frame with a higher number on the label. The measurement people forget is the width between the arms, which is almost always smaller than the seat width. Our widest in-stock options are the Heavy-Duty Shower Stool with Arms (220kg, 53.5cm between the arms) and the Heavy Duty Bariatric Commode (250kg-plus, 64.5cm between the arms).

This is one of the more awkward phone calls people have to make, and it should not be. Buying bathroom equipment that fits is a measuring job, the same as buying a bed or a doorway. Here is how we work through it.

What weight is standard bathroom equipment actually built for?

Look at the safe working loads across a typical range and the pattern is obvious. From our own shelves:

• Quality Shower Stool with Arms: 120kg, 47cm between the arms
• Viking Shower Chair With Arms: 125kg, 45cm between the arms
• Over Toilet Frame with Seat and Splash Guard: 120kg, 47cm between the arms
• 3-in-1 Folding Commode: 120kg, 46cm between the arms
• 4-in-1 Deluxe Mobile Commode and Shower Chair: 110kg

Those are good products, and for most people they are exactly the right buy. They are also all built to the same underlying assumption. Plenty of New Zealanders sit above that assumption, and there is nothing unusual about it. It just means the standard range is not the range to shop in.

What fails first when the weight limit is exceeded?

Bathroom equipment rarely fails suddenly. It degrades, and there are usually warnings.

Frame flex. The first sign is a soft give or a wobble as the person lowers themselves. Aluminium and steel tube both bend a little under load, and a rated safe working load already includes a safety margin. The problem is repetition. Sitting down heavily two or three times a day, every day, fatigues the joints where the legs meet the seat frame long before anything visible happens.

Seat width. A 28cm by 38cm seat under someone wider than the seat puts the load on the outer edges rather than the middle. The outer edge is where moulded plastic is thinnest and where the seat is bolted to the frame. That is where cracks start, and they start from underneath where nobody looks.

Leg splay. Height-adjustable legs telescope one tube inside another, held by a spring pin. A wide load sitting outside the frame footprint pushes those legs outward, and the pin takes a bending load it was never designed for. On a wet tiled floor, a splayed leg is also a leg that is about to slide.

Arms. This is the one that surprises people. The arms take more load than the seat does, because the moment of standing up is when you push hardest. Bolting wider arms onto a standard-width frame is the wrong fix. You want a frame that was designed wide, with a wider footprint underneath it to match.

How do I measure the person and the bathroom?

Five minutes with a tape measure saves a return. Measure the person first.

• Seated hip width. Sit on a firm dining chair, and measure across the widest point of the hips and thighs. Add 3cm to 5cm for clothing and movement. That number is your minimum width between the arms.
• Actual weight. Not an estimate, and do not round down. If you are within 10kg of a product's rating, go up a model.
• Lower leg length. Floor to the back of the knee, in the shoes normally worn. That is the seat height you want, and it tells you whether a stool's adjustment range covers you.

Then measure the room.

• Shower opening width, and the shower floor at its narrowest point, not its widest.
• Distance from the shower wall to the glass or the door, since that is what the stool has to sit inside.
• Doorway clear width, if anything is going to be wheeled in.
• For a commode, the clear floor space beside the bed and the route from bed to door.
• For an over-toilet frame, the clear width either side of the toilet, allowing for the vanity, the wall and the skirting.

Width between the arms is the number people forget. It is not the same as seat width, and it is not the same as overall width. On the Viking Maxi Plus stool, for example, the seat is 570mm, the arms are 650mm apart and the overall frame is 780mm wide. Order by seat width alone and you can end up with something that does not fit the shower, or something the person cannot sit down between.

Shower stool, shower chair, mobile shower commode or over-toilet frame?

Four different products for four different problems.

A shower stool is a seat on legs, usually with arms, and no back. It has the smallest footprint and the lowest price. It suits someone who can sit unsupported and simply needs to not be standing for the length of a shower.

A shower chair with arms and a back adds postural support behind you. That matters if the person tires part way through, leans backwards, or has poor trunk control. It takes more room in the shower, so measure before you commit.

A mobile shower commode is a wheeled chair with a commode opening. It rolls over the toilet and into the shower, so the person transfers once instead of three times. It needs a level-entry or wet-area shower, a doorway wide enough, and turning room. It is the right answer when standing transfers are no longer safe, and the wrong answer in a small bathroom with a step-in shower tray.

An over-toilet frame or toilet surround is about the toilet, not the shower. There are two families. A frame that sits over the toilet with its own raised seat gives you height and arms in one product. A freestanding surround stands around your existing toilet and gives you arms without changing the seat. Our Fully Adjustable Freestanding Toilet Surround comes in a 200kg heavy-duty version and needs no drilling or wall fixings, which makes it the practical answer in a rental.

Which wider bathroom products does Mobility Plus have in stock?

Everything in this table is active and orderable right now. Prices are NZD and include GST.

Two things worth pulling out of that table.

The Heavy-Duty Shower Stool is the quiet star for the money. It takes 220kg on a 2.7kg aluminium frame, gives you 53.5cm between the arms and a 30.5cm by 44.5cm drainage seat, and it still fits a normal shower. At $179.95 it is $60 more than the standard stool and nearly twice the capacity.

The Heavy Duty Bariatric Commode is the widest thing we hold, at 64.5cm between the arms and 70.5cm overall. Measure your doorway before ordering it. The arms fold down so a sideways transfer from the bed is possible without standing, which is often the real reason it gets prescribed.

And an honest note on the 4-in-1 Deluxe Mobile Commode and Shower Chair: it is a genuinely useful mobile shower commode, but it is rated to 110kg. It is not a larger-frame product and we would rather say so than sell you one.

What if the best-fitting product is not in stock?

Sometimes the right answer is not something you can add to a cart today. Here is where that happens, plainly:

• Viking Maxi Shower Stool with Arms. 200kg, 480mm by 330mm padded seat, 500mm between the arms, height adjustable 490 to 610mm, 550mm overall width. Listed at $793.95 but made to order, not held in stock.
• Viking Maxi Plus Shower Stool with Arms. Our highest capacity at 300kg, with a 570mm by 440mm padded seat, 650mm between the arms and a 610mm seat height. It is 780mm wide overall, so check the shower before you commit. Listed at $1,699.99 and made to order.
• Viking Wide Over Toilet Frame (175kg) and Viking Maxi Extra-Wide Over Toilet Frame. Neither is currently listed for sale on the website. Both are available on enquiry, and we will confirm price and lead time before you commit to anything.

If one of those is the product you need, do not order something narrower and hope. Ring Kellie on 022 022 9956 and we will tell you honestly what the lead time is, what it will cost, and whether one of the in-stock options above would actually do the job for less.

Can wide bathroom equipment be funded in New Zealand?

Bathroom and toileting equipment is one of the most commonly prescribed categories in the country, and for good reason. It is where most falls at home happen. An occupational therapist will usually assess in the home, take the measurements, and specify the item, which is exactly the process this article is trying to help you prepare for.

Mobility Plus is a registered vendor with Enable New Zealand, ACC and MSD / Work and Income, and we provide formal written quotes for OTs and funding applications at no charge. Our plain-English WINZ and ACC funding guide explains the routes.

One practical tip for OTs and families. If the person is above standard capacity, start the funding conversation early, because wider equipment is more often non-stock and lead times matter. Get the measurements and the quote moving in parallel rather than in sequence.

Frequently asked questions

What weight can a standard shower stool hold?

Most standard shower stools and chairs in New Zealand are rated between 100kg and 135kg. Our Quality Shower Stool with Arms is 120kg and the Viking Shower Chair With Arms is 125kg. Above that you want purpose-built heavy-duty equipment, such as our 220kg Heavy-Duty Shower Stool with Arms.

What is the widest shower stool you stock?

In stock, the Heavy-Duty Shower Stool with Arms gives 53.5cm between the arms at a 220kg rating, and the Viking Maxi Shower Chair with Arms is our extra-wide padded chair at 200kg. Wider again, the Viking Maxi Plus at 300kg with 650mm between the arms is made to order.

How do I measure for a wide shower chair?

Sit on a firm chair and measure across the widest point of the hips and thighs, then add 3cm to 5cm. That is your minimum width between the arms. Measure floor to the back of the knee for seat height, and measure the shower floor at its narrowest point, not its widest.

What is the difference between a shower stool and a shower chair?

A shower stool is a seat on legs with no back, usually with arms. A shower chair adds a backrest for postural support. The stool has a smaller footprint and costs less. Choose the chair if the person tires part way through a shower or leans backwards.

Why does width between the arms matter more than seat width?

Because it is the space you have to get your hips into, and it is usually narrower than the seat. Sitting between arms that are too close forces the load onto the outer seat edges, which is where plastic seats crack. It also makes standing up harder, since you cannot get your arms into a straight push.

Can bathroom equipment be funded through an OT?

Often yes. Shower stools, commodes and over-toilet frames are commonly OT-prescribed, with funding through Enable New Zealand, ACC where an injury is involved, or MSD assistance. Mobility Plus is a registered vendor with all three and provides free written quotes for funding applications.

Will a wide commode fit through a standard doorway?

Measure first. Our Heavy Duty Bariatric Commode is 70.5cm wide overall, which clears most standard New Zealand internal doorways but not all of them, and not every bathroom door. Measure the narrowest clear opening on the route, including any door stop or architrave.

Talk it through with us

If you have the measurements and you are still not sure, or if the tape measure has thrown up an awkward number, email info@mobilityplus.co.nz with the hip width, the weight and a photo of the bathroom. We will tell you what fits and what does not, including when nothing we sell is the right answer.

Our Putaruru showroom is open by appointment if you would like to sit on a few before deciding, and delivery is free NZ-wide. You may also find our bathroom and toileting buying guide useful.

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